President & CEO, Mississippi Manufacturers Association
John McKay is the president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association (MMA), the largest and most influential voice for Mississippi manufacturers. The association represents thousands of manufacturers and related businesses across the state. Since 2008, John has helped to develop and win passage of several significant legislative programs. He has led the fight to reduce or eliminate burdensome taxes, such as the inventory and franchise taxes and the sales tax on energy used by manufacturers. John has also helped to develop and pass major workforce development initiatives such as the Workforce Enhancement Act and the creation of the Mississippi Works Fund. Other significant legislative incentive packages supporting Mississippi companies, such as Ingalls Shipbuilding, Yokohama Tire, Viking, and Continental Tire were also made possible through John’s advocacy work.
John is actively involved in numerous professional associations and related organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Business & Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC), Nature Conservancy Mississippi Chapter, and Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence at The University of Mississippi. John is also a member of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), International Economic Development Council (IEDC), and Council of State Manufacturing Associations (COSMA).
Before he joined the MMA, John was the ICMA Management Fellow with the Sarasota County Government in Sarasota, Florida, where he supported a variety of county initiatives including public works, budget preparation, communications and financial analytics. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi with a double major in Political Science and English, and he has a Master of Public Administration degree from the College of Charleston. John is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute in Norman, Oklahoma.
John and his wife Kasey reside in Madison, MS with their three daughters, Cella, Edie, and Holland.